This invention relates generally to pet comestibles. In particular, the invention concerns a treat for cats.
Previously, it has been known to prepare edible products for pets, including cats. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,401 issued to Rothamel et al. on Jan. 14, 2003, discloses an edible product which includes a flour-based shell in which the principal ingredients are soy flour and wheat flour. The shell may include sugar in the range of 0-6 wt % and crystalline fructose in the range of 0-6.5 wt %. The product includes other ingredients so that it can be used as a hairball treatment. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,228,402, 6,159,508, and 5,989,604 issued to Wolf et al.
It is also known to prepare pet treats by an infusion process where phytochemicals are added to pet foods such as ground liver, ground chicken and others that have been formed as cubes. The pet treats can be infused with medicinals resulting in treats that are more effective than pills. Infusion using osmotic dehydration is disclosed where the food product is submerged in a solution having a high concentration of solutes such as a solution with a high sugar component (e.g., high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, saccharides, aldohexoses, and hydroliyzed starches). Water in the food product then migrates to the solution. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,449, issued the Hirschberg on Aug. 27, 2002.
The known pet treats are typically offered as an object that the pet either consumes, or does not consume—at the whim of the pet.